If you broke your leg, would you go to a family doctor or an orthopedic surgeon? Well, your potential clients want niched experts as well. It's crucial to pick the niche that's best suited to your expertise.
Now that you have some ways to find the money to get your business going, I'll be sharing some tips on what you need to do during the start-up process over the next few weeks, since more than a third of you who responded to my recent survey were in the start up phase.
If you're reading this and you're already successful, take this opportunity to share your start up experiences and "pay it forward" by leaving a comment.
Picking Your Market Niche
Before you pick your market niche, you need to do some research. I'm sure you have an array of talents, knowledge, interests and passions. Not all of them are marketable and you don't want to be batting your head against a wall trying to become profitable.
Being a generalist just doesn't work. Why not? Because people want to go to experts. Here are some silly and not so silly examples of niches that are too large, just right, and too small.
Too Large Just Right Too Small
Doctor Dermatologist Faces only
Internet marketer Weight loss For men 25-35
Lawyer Estates and Wills For divorced women
As you can see if your market niche is too large, you're likely to be passed over for an expert. If it's too small there just aren't enough clients. Finding the right niche is crucial. But before you settle on a niche here are 3 important criteria to consider.
1. Will my products/services fill an aching need for my target clients?
2. Are they willing and able to pay?
3. Are they relatively easy to reach so I can market to them?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, you might want to continue researching your niche.
One final question to test your niche is this–is it oversaturated with competitors? If so, can you put a spin on your ideas? If it's a growing market then you might be able to successfully throw your hat in the ring. If not, and you're on the tail end of a trend, chances are you'll struggle and you may want to re-think and refine your niche.
Follow this simple process before making a commitment. Check out what successful businesses are doing in your market niche. How are they marketing? How profitable are they? Following these simple suggestions could have a huge impact on your success.
